UKC

We're shortly moving into our first home along with our cat and we'd like to have a decent security system in place. I've seen supposedly 'pet-friendly' ones advertised, but have read reports of them going off regardless, which is something I'd like to avoid if we're away for a few days at a time.

Anyone had any experience worth sharing?

Thanks.

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

its the movement sensors which are the problem - you could maybe just get one without these? the pet friendly ones tend to rely on having a trigger size for which moving objects to detect - the guy who fitted my alarm was fairly unimpressed how well that tends to work in practice

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

We have just such an alarm and it works well with our cat.

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

We have a cat and an alarm. When we go away, we shut the cat in the kitchen, which doesn't have a sensor. Problem solved.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

In theory, I like. Unfortunately, our cat is, erm, sensitive.

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

I should add that there is a cat flap from the kitchen to the garden and someone comes in every other day, at least, to feed her.

The other reason she's shut in the kitchen when we're away is that she hunts and occasionally catches things. Coming home from holiday to find dead mice under our bed wasn't pleasant.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

dead mice under our bed wasn't pleasant.

Doubt the mouse enjoyed it either.

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

Best way to avoid pets setting them off is by using contact sensors on doors and shock sensors on the windows, and only have movement ones in areas shut off from the cat, hallways are good for movement sensors as most burglars like to have a bit of a wander around while they're pillaging your hard earned stuff to sell for drugs.

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:


Sensitive how? I'm now curious.

In reply to Timmd:

He's a rescue cat and is incredibly needy and skittish. He doesn't go outside because other cats bully him (I've seen a pigeon bully him). Worse still, he expresses any kind of upset through the medium of shitting in surprising and difficult to reach, but unfortunately not difficult to smell, places. We love him very much.

Thanks for the opinions folks. Sounds like a mix of pet-friendly and contact sensors in rooms where he can get up high enough to set motion sensors off.

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

Aw, I can see why you don't want to perturb him now.

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

Another vote for a perimeter system on the windows and doors rather than the sensor type.

I had them in two previous houses and always liked the fact that it would go off before the buggers got inside, rather than afterwards.

The window cleaner set it off once or twice with some vigorous work but I think your cat would have to hurl himself at the glass to get a reaction.

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

We didn't have much luck with pet friendly sensors, maybe 3 cats at the time was too big a register. We changed to contacts on all the doors and windows and break glass detectors on the window panes that picked up sharp vibrations.
They never went off as a false alarm except when the kid next door lost control of his football. Didn't break the glass but did set the alarm off.